Güney Sakız Adası, Sakız Ağacı

In the tradition of Chios, the mastic trees began to shed tears when martyred Saint Isidore the Romans around 250 AD. Romans chased St. Isidore because they were fans of the Christian religion. Saint to escape fled near Mesta. At that moment there appeared a white horse with whom arrived as the Southern villages of Chios because he could not stand after another was seriously injured. Then he sat under a mastic tree. The mastic tree (Schinos in greek) took pity on torture and wept. Tears of fragrant and then tear up the St. Isidore hitherto called mastic.

From this period dates back to the 3rd century, however, the cultivation of the plant on the island . The minimum rainfall, plenty of sunshine and calcareous soil texture are the perfect environment of success of the plant. Residents of 24 villages in the spring cultivate their fields lopping their mastic trees until March 20. Towards the end of May make their mastic trees cleaning from grasses and leaves while in June begins intensive preparation of the mastic trees. During the month of July, farmers start throwing white soil mastic trees in which the source of the Chios Mastic Growers Association (CIT) as opposed to older people the earth gouged by carving stones.